St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Politics, government, and taxation

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent state within the
British Commonwealth. It claims as its head of state Queen Elizabeth,
who is represented on the islands by a governor general. The
nation's form of government is a parliamentary democracy. The
governor general selects the prime minister, usually the leader of the
majority party in the
unicameral
(one-house) House of Assembly. The House of Assembly consists of 21
seats (15 representatives chosen by popular election and 6 appointed
senators). The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, based in Saint Lucia,
carries out judicial functions. One judge from the court is based in
Saint Vincent.

Vincentian politics have been dominated by the figure of Sir James
Mitchell since he and his National Democratic Party (NDP) first won
elections in 1984. Elections in 1998 gave the NDP its fourth consecutive
victory, but there was considerable controversy. The NDP won 8 out of 15
seats in parliament but only 45.3 percent of votes cast. The opposition
Unity Labour Party (ULP) won only 7 seats but 54.6 percent of the vote.
After political unrest and subsequent mediation from representatives of
the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 2000, it was agreed that fresh
elections would be brought forward by 2 years to March 2001. In those
elections the ULP took 56.7 percent of the vote and occupied 12 of the
15 seats in the National Assembly; the NDP took 40.7 percent of the vote
and held only 3 seats. Ralph Gon-salves was subsequently appointed as
prime minister.

There is little ideological difference between the 2 main parties in
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and both support a mixed economy in
which government encourages and regulates
private-sector
growth and foreign investment. Differences tend to be as much personal
as political, although the ULP puts particular emphasis on the need to
reduce unemployment through the continued rehabilitation of agriculture
and government spending on
infrastructure
. Governments are able to exert particular influence on the economy, in
part because it is so small and in part because there is a relatively
large
public sector
.

Taxation is made up of a mixture of
income tax
, indirect sales taxes, and taxes levied on companies and foreign-owned
financial institutions. In an attempt to increase fiscal revenues from
International Business Companies (IBCs), the government introduced
legislation in 1996 ensuring almost complete secrecy concerning their
financial transactions. The government has also attempted to raise
revenues by acting as a flag of convenience, offering registration
facilities for foreign shipping companies. Both of these measures have
led to criticism not only from the political opposition but also from in
ternational bodies concerned with
money-laundering
and marine safety.

User Contributions:

It was nice to read about the country as it should have been! With a Prime Minister like Ralph Gonzalves, it looks like a far shot to achieve anything that the country of St. Vincent and Grenadines can. Hard-working Vincentians can only watch their toil turn to dust as one wrong decision after another happens in Comrade Ralph's rule. I think it's now time for us to take this matter on our hands and change the system as it is. Down with Ralph Gonzalves!